Crimes With The Highest Bail Amounts

Judges usually set bail during the suspect’s first court appearance, which could either be a bail hearing or an arraignment. Judges will normally adhere to common practices when setting a bail amount, meaning they’ll base the amount on the nature of the crime. The judge could make an adjustment to that amount depending on other factors. For instances, a judge may lower the amount of bail, or waive bail altogether and grant a release, on the defendant’s own recognizance in individual cases. If you’re anticipating the bail amount for a friend, here are some of the crimes that are given the highest bail amounts.

Murder

Murder is the most heinous crime a person can commit but that doesn’t mean suspects of murder aren’t eligible for bail. With the principle of innocent until proven guilty ruling the court system, every suspect no matter the crime is bailable. The violent offense guarantees the bail will not be lower than $1 million, and depending on how exactly the person is charged can result in a bail in the tens of millions of dollars range.

Insider Trading

Inside trading is the illegal practice of trading on the stock exchange for one’s own advantage using confidential information. While it’s not a violent act, it gives those insiders an unfair advantage over other investors who do not know the secrets. It is a white-collar crime and those who are suspected of it can usually easily pay bail. That doesn’t mean the bail asked isn’t an impressive number, going as high as $250 million.

Sexual Assault

Suspects accused of sexual assault also have high bail, especially if they are accused of having multiple victims. As a violent crime, it automatically gets a high bail. Other factors greatly affect the amount of this bail too such as whether the suspect in question is in a position of authority, the relationship with the person accusing them of the crime, and things of that nature. Some of the highest bails for this charge were set at $10 million, but most were raised due to previous offenses.

Bottom Line

It’s important to remember that the judge does not set bail solely on the seriousness of the charged crime. Other factors are taken into consideration like whether the suspect is a flight risk, whether they are employed or not, the defendant’s past criminal record, and whether the defendant has close personal ties with the community or relatives. While you can expect high bail for these sort of crimes, it comes on a case to case basis with too many factors to accurately estimate a standard amount for bail.